Chief AI Officer

About the Role

Edison Smart® is supporting a leading global financial services firm in appointing a Chief AI Officer to found and lead a new AI Centre of Excellence in Singapore. This role comes with executive sponsorship and ownership over the enterprise-wide AI strategy, technology, team-building, and operating model. The aim is to establish Singapore as a major AI hub globally for the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Establish and lead the AI Centre of Excellence in Singapore from inception.
• Define the corporate AI strategy covering generative AI, agentic AI, and machine learning.
• Build and expand multidisciplinary teams in AI Engineering, Applied AI, Machine Learning, and AI Platform development.
• Create the infrastructure and architecture necessary for deploying AI solutions at enterprise scale.
• Drive initiatives involving large language models (LLMs), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), agentic systems, and enterprise knowledge into production environments.
• Identify impactful opportunities for AI adoption within a large global financial services context.
• Implement frameworks for responsible AI use, governance, security, and model risk management.
• Collaborate directly with C-suite executives and global technology leaders.
• Develop connections with Singapore's wider AI, research, and technology ecosystems.

Candidate Profile and Requirements

• Proven leadership experience managing AI/ML, generative AI, or applied AI engineering teams.
• Demonstrated success in building or scaling an AI Centre of Excellence, AI platforms, or enterprise-level AI functions.
• Deep technical expertise in modern AI architectures, including experience with LLMs, RAG, agents, evaluation, deployment, and MLOps/LLMOps.
• Track record of deploying AI solutions at scale within highly regulated or complex technical environments.
• Comprehensive knowledge of AI governance, security, and responsible deployment practices.
• Experience in assembling and guiding high-performing AI engineering and applied science teams.
• Ability to influence executive leadership while maintaining credibility with senior technical personnel such as engineers, architects, and researchers.
• Background in financial services is highly desirable; candidates from Big Tech, fintech, cloud, enterprise software, or similarly regulated industries will also be considered.

Why Join?

This role offers the unique chance to build AI capabilities from the ground up with substantial executive support. You will be empowered to position Singapore as a strategic AI hub for a major global financial institution, enjoying broad organizational influence and autonomy.